Northern Ireland's DUP agrees to a 'confidence and supply' deal to help May form a minority government

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party just agreed to the principles of a "confidence and supply" deal that would pave the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to form a minority government.

Agreeing to a "confidence and supply" deal means that it will support May's Conservative party to form a minority government, once she asks for the Queen's permission (which May did immediately after the general election):

1. A Budget — the "supply" part of the deal.

2. Help stop votes of no confidence in the House of Commons — the "confidence" part of the deal.

A minority government needs to rely on the support of other parties to get through these votes and anything else it wants to get done. They lend their support to form a working majority on issues with which it agrees

The Conservatives failed to win 326 seats in the general election — the number needed to have an outright majority. But the party still won the largest number of seats and votes — with 318 seats and 12,667,213 votes (42.8% of the overall vote).

This resulted in a hung parliament. When a hung parliament is returned, there are three main outcomes:

A coalition government.

A minority government.

A second election.

The Tory Party opted for a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, the last time a hung parliament occurred. This meant that the two parties officially agreed to go into government with each other and draw up a shared legislative program. However, the Liberal Democrats ruled out a coalition in 2017's election.

The DUP won't be involved with jointly running a shared legislative program if it helps May have a minority government, but it would support the Tories when it pushes through legislation through votes.

The Northern Irish party has long remained on the fringes of mainstream British politics. They don't have a presence on the mainland, and they rarely get a look in on the national debate — which is dominated by the likes of the Conservatives, Labour, and smaller parties like Green and UKIP.

But the party has shockingly evolved into an unlikely kingmaker and partner with the Conservatives after this year's general election returned a hung parliament.

It's the biggest party in Northern Ireland, with 26 seats in the national assembly, and the fifth biggest in the UK, with 10 MPs and a 1.5% share of the vote.

It is also seen as a far-right party that is staunchly against LGBT rights and abortions.